‘We will not be able to bring back black money from Switzerland in our lifetime’ (Photo: AP)

SUMMARYThis flies in face of what Narendra Modi had declared as his intent.

A BJP member today said India will not be able to bring back blackmoney from Switzerland “in our lifetime”, in comments that could be seen as embarrassing for his party’s government, led by PM Narendra Modi, which has declared its commitment to fulfil this task.

“We will not be able to bring back blackmoney from Switzerland in our lifetime,” said Nishikant Dubey, MP from Godda in Jharkhand, in the Lok Sabha while participating in a debate on Finance Bill.

Dubey, who was the first member from the Treasury benches to speak on the issue, said, “We cannot bring it back because people have formed trusts. Citizens of Switzerland are employees who hold the trust.

“When you ask for money and names, you will seek names of Indians. There is no question of asking the name of the trustees. And if we don’t, then how will we get back blackmoney from Switzerland,” he said.

The Narendra Modi government had only last month asserted in Parliament that it is “determined to rid the country of the scourge of corruption and the menace of blackmoney” stashed in foreign banks.

“As a first step in this direction, the government has already constituted an SIT to unearth blackmoney stashed abroad. This will be followed up vigorously by proactively engaging with foreign governments,” President Pranab Mukherjee had said in his address to the Joint Sitting of Parliament last month while outlining the vision of the Narendra Modi government.